Welcome to the Mr. Local History Project
“A 501c3 Non-Profit Dedicated to Preserving and Promoting Jersey History with a Social Twist”
The Mr. Local History Project is about bringing New Jersey’s past into the present through the stories of real places, real people, and real communities. Focused especially on New Jersey history, the project celebrates local history in a way that feels personal, engaging, and relevant, not something locked away in textbooks, but history that lives where we live. As we head into 2026, the 250th anniversary of the United States, Mr. Local History is turning history into a shared experience. With a social twist, this is about connecting online and in the community, sharing memories, spotlighting hometown stories, and honoring New Jersey’s outsized role in America’s founding. It is history you can explore, share, and be part of together.
Today in America’s History (We Update Every Day)
- 1854: USS Constellation (1854), the last all-sail warship built by the United States Navy and current museum ship in Baltimore Harbor, is commissioned.
- 1866: At the age of 18, Vinnie Ream becomes the first and youngest female artist to receive a commission from the United States government for a statue (of Abraham Lincoln).
- 1868: The 14th Amendment to the United States Constitution is certified, establishing African American citizenship and guaranteeing due process of law.
- 1915: The United States begins a 19-year occupation of Haiti.
- 1917: Anti-lynching movement: The Silent Parade takes place in New York City, in protest against murders, lynchings, and other violence directed towards African Americans.
- 1932: During the Great Depression, U.S. president Herbert Hoover orders the United States Army to forcibly evict the "Bonus Army" of World War I veterans gathered in Washington, D.C.
- 1945: A U.S. Army B-25 bomber crashes into the 79th floor of the Empire State Building killing 14 and injuring 26.
- 1965: Vietnam War: U.S. president Lyndon B. Johnson announces his order to increase the number of United States troops in South Vietnam from 75,000 to 125,000.
- 2002: Nine coal miners trapped in the flooded Quecreek Mine in Somerset County, Pennsylvania, are rescued after 77 hours underground.
- 2017: Nawaz Sharif was disqualified from office for life by Supreme Court of Pakistan after finding him guilty of corruption charges.
What Can You Do Today to Celebrate America’s 250th?
Our Readers’ Top 10 MLH Posts this Week
Latest Posts
A Tiny Roadside Cemetery in Basking Ridge
Views: 148 Isn’t it strange that you might drive by something 1,000s of times and never notice something….until you do. This is one of those stories. Just to the south of the former Millington quarry entrance on Stonehouse Road sits…
The Wedding Heard Round the Colonies: Lord Stirling, Washington & New Jersey’s Most Famous Revolutionary War Wedding
Views: 388 Commemorating the 247th Anniversary of the Wedding Heard ‘Round the ColoniesJuly 27, 1779 – July 27, 2026 July 27, 1779Basking Ridge’s Biggest Event – Kitty Stirling’s Wedding On July 27, 1779, the Revolutionary War was entering one of…
MLH Development History Series
Views: 91 Every neighborhood, subdivision, shopping center, office park, and apartment complex has a story long before the first shovel ever touched the ground. The Development History Series explores how today’s communities came to be, tracing the land from its…
History of Housing Developments in Bernards Township
Views: 14,253 Bernards Township has a long history of being a sleepy rural town. Then, the US built the Lyons VA, and everything changed as the population grew. Then AT&T came to town in the 1970s, and everything AGAIN started…
Bernardsville’s Affordable Housing Dilemma – They’re Not Alone
Views: 262 While we at the Mr. Local History Project prefer to write about history and not try to make it, sometimes history and perspective from other areas serve as indicators of what not to do, or at least give…
Meandering Basking Ridge’s Largest Lake – The Millington Quarry
Views: 1,475 The Millington Quarry property in the Millington section of Bernards Township is one of the largest former industrial sites in Somerset County and has been the focus of redevelopment discussions for more than a decade. Covering approximately 180…
1717 John Harrison Purchases What Becomes Basking Ridge
Views: 235 For the first time ever, our readers can see and read the original 1717 deed in which John Harrison purchased the land that later became Basking Ridge, New Jersey. Researchers at the Mr. Local History Project are so…
Five Landowners That Owned Half of Somerset County, New Jersey
Views: 965 Maps are such a great source of history, and this 1766 map doesn’t disappoint those looking to learn more about Somerset County, New Jersey’s history. Completed in 1766 by surveyors Benjamin Morgan and Joseph Hills, the Morgan–Hills Map…
1766 Somerset County, New Jersey Map Tells So Many Stories
Views: 367 The 1766 Morgan–Hills Map of Somerset County Unlike most eighteenth-century maps that depict only towns and transportation routes, the Morgan–Hills map provides a remarkable snapshot of the county’s agricultural landscape by assigning numbered tracts to individual owners in…
Speaker Series: Sacking General Lee in Basking Ridge….But What if
Views: 860 What would have happened if General Charles Lee WASN’T captured in Basking Ridge?Join the Mr. Local History Project as we break down the history with this interesting conversation. America250 Update: Presentation – Sacking General Lee in Basking Ridge –…
Free Declaration of Independence & Constitution Booklet for Supporting MLH
Views: 246 Yes, it’s true, to celebrate America 250, we have a great gift for you from our friends and the New Jersey State Bar Foundation. Simply order anything from our fundraising gift shop or make a donation, then ask…
MLH Loves To See The Public Engaged….. The Latest Comments
I grew up in Summit. We went to the Springfield WD. I graduated Summit HS in 1975. Before they tore…
All Saints’ Episcopal Church in Millington was built from Millington Quarry trap rock, donated by Frederick Schmidt. Until the quarry…
Gary is one hell of man I had the opportunity to work for Gary for a short time when I…
Back in the 1930s, there was a fair-sized wooden box for the drop-off of bread at the entrance to the…
Preservation NJ named the site of the former Lord Stirling School as one of the state’s most endangered due to…
Thank you for this research. I grew up in The Hills on the Bedminster side, in an affordable unit (that…
Hi: Abraham Southard the son of Thomas and Annica Southard had no record of having been married. He left a…
What was the name of the restaurant that was destroyed by Sandy which was across the street from Keyport Fishery?
Yes, not sure how it got confused so we’ve updated the piece. How did you remember?
Our Summer 2026 Magazine is HERE!
Full of great local Jersey History to keep you on the edge of your history seat.
Special Edition – America’s 250th The SEMI-QUIN-CENTENNIAL is HERE!
See our special digital magazine. Full of great local Jersey History.
My grandfather set the stone for Schmid Park on Pond Hill Road. He worked at the quarry when they had…